Dark Knight Over Sunnydale
by Godeater
Summary: After the brutal murder of his parents, Alexander Harris has prepared his whole life to avenge them. The arrival of the Slayer and and grinning terror will be his first, and perhaps last test as The Batman.
1. Prologue

Jessica Roberts was on her way home from the Bronze, when she was attacked. Jessica had lived in Sunnydale her whole life, and knew better than to walk alone at night, no matter how well lit a street. Her parents had told her, her friends had told her, and her ex-boyfriend had told her, don't walk home alone. It was something that was ingrained in her from a young age. Bad things happen at night, especially if you're alone. And yet, here she was, dragged into an ally a few blocks from the Bronze by some smelly, cold-handed pervert. He was deformed too! He had no eyebrows! His eyes looked yellow! So, while her attacker whispered about how tasty she looked, Jessica just closed her eyes and silently prayed that he would let her live, after he was done with her.  
  
So, she was obviously surprised when her assailant seemed to jump back from her and into the shadows further in the alleyway. Blinking away tears from her eyes, Jessica listened to the sounds of a brief struggle in the darkness that ended abruptly. Her eyes clear, she saw movement in the dimness as a figure moved forward. It wasn't her attacker, but a large, black.thing. It was over six feet tall, the points of its long ears making it appear taller. It stopped before it stepped into the light, making only a dim outline of it visible to Jessica. It didn't approach her, but simply seemed to be staring at her, though its eyes couldn't be seen. "Is.is he gone?" Jessica managed to say, her voice hoarse from the grip the attacker had had on her throat. The figure was silent for so long, that Jessica started to wonder if it understood her.  
  
"He won't bother you anymore," it replied in a low, raspy voice.  
  
"Th-thank you," the frightened girl said, taking a step toward her savior.  
  
The black figure took a step back into the darkness. "Go home," was its simple response as it faded deeper into the ally.  
  
"Wait!" Jessica cried out. "Who are you?"  
  
The figure had disappeared, but the raspy voice replied anyway. "I'm Batman."  
  
Jessica heard what sounded like the rustle of wings and felt a slight breeze brush her skin, and knew that the thing was gone. She stood frozen for a minute, and than turned and ran out of the ally. She didn't stop till she had reached her home. 


	2. Chapter 1

Willow Rosenburg sat outside the steps of Sunnydale High, waiting for her best friend like she did every morning before classes started. She watched the other students enjoying this bit of freedom before they were forced to go to class. They talked and gossiped about who had broken up and who had gotten together. The football jocks all stood together in a little circled, talking about the next game, and eyeing passing girls. Cordelia Chase was holding court under the varsity tree, as usual, listening impassively as one of her hangerons told an obviously dramatic story. "Probably upset that a shoe store didn't have her size," Willow muttered to herself. She immediately felt guilty, reminding herself that she had promised to try and be nicer to Cordelia and her 'friends'. She saw the reason behind that promise parking his motorcycle in the student parking lot.  
  
Xander Harris had been Willow's best friend for as long as she could remember, and had harbored a crush on him for almost the same amount of time. She'd never told him about her feelings because she was sure that he didn't share them. Xander guarded his emotions and feelings closely, a result of his parents dying when he was young. When their friend Jessie had died during their sophomore year, Xander didn't seem effected at all, but was a rock for Willow to cling to. When Willow told him she thought she was bi-sexual, he seemed only slightly surprised, but was an ocean of encouragement and support. When Willow started seeing a guitar player from a local band, Tara, he had simply smiled and gave the relationship his seal of approval. During the last year, she had started seeing Xander differently. Not as crush, but as an older brother, though they were the same age. He always seemed to look out for her and never judged her the way other people at school did. He had stood by her when she came out to her parents. He let her stay at his house while her parents 'adjusted' to the new reality of their only daughter's lifestyle, and had given both of them warnings not to damage their relationship with her. He was had been there through best and worst experiences of Willow's life, and though she had put her childhood crush aside, her love for him had only grown. While she knew that a small part of her would always love him in a non-brotherly way, she was as happy as she had any right to be with their relationship. She made it her mission for their senior year to be the best one for both of them.  
  
When Xander had started dating Cordelia at the end of the summer, Willow was shocked but didn't say anything. It would have been hypocritical since she had been encouraging her best friend to start dating. While she still couldn't understand why Xander, who had the entire female population of Sunnydale wanting him, had picked Cordelia, Willow promised herself that she would try to get along better with 'Queen C.' for Xander's sake.  
  
Willow watched as Xander, dressed in his traditional black, disembarked from his bike, tucking his helmet under one arm, while his other held his knapsack. She could tell by the way he walked that Xander had probably stayed up all night again. He'd been a night owl for awhile now, and she constantly worried that it would effect his schoolwork. He stopped at the foot of the stairs that lead to the school and looked around. He stared for a moment at Cordeila and her friends, and Willow saw a very small smile touch his lips. When he saw her, it grew an order of magnitude and he walked toward her. "Hey Wills," he said as he jaunted up the steps and came toward her.  
  
Willow allowed herself a moment to enjoy her small victory over her rival for Xander's attention, before answering. "Hey Xand! Up late studying for our history test?"  
  
"History test?" Xander gave his friend a confused look. "Didn't we just have a history test on Tuesday?"  
  
"You're thinking of the English test we had on Monday." Willow gave her friend a severe look. "You know, if you actually slept like a normal person, maybe you'd remember stuff like that.  
  
"Cut me some slack, Willow! I passed that English test.didn't I?"  
  
"Yes," Willow sighed, knowing that she'd have an easier time convincing the Pope to celebrate Hanukkah than in changing Xander. "You passed it. You always manage to pass. You could be valedictorian if you wanted to be. If you just applied yourself."  
  
Xander sighed and sat down next to his best friend. "Will, you know me and school don't get along well. I mean, I can learn anything they can teach me here, at home. Only reason I still bother to go is cause you and Alfred would throw a fit if I didn't finish."  
  
"What about college?" Getting into a good college was something that kept Willow up at night.  
  
"What about it?" Xander asked as he scanned the courtyard. "I mean, what's the point? I go and get a degree and than what? Get a job? Don't know if you noticed Will, but I'm not exactly hurting for cash."  
  
Willow knew that was an understatement of unimaginable scale. Xander Harris was the richest person in Sunnydale. Fifth richest in the United States, and eighth richest in the world. Richard Harris, Xander's father, had been a doctor. He invented a valve that had advanced the way heart surgeries were preformed by at least 20 years. The royalties from the patent had gone into starting up Harris Enterprises, which had helped start the computer revolution in the 80s. By the time Richard Harris and his wife, Mary, had been killed, it had become a major supplier to NASA and other government agencies. A board of directors ran Harris Enterprises, but Xander held the majority of the stock. When he turned 18, during the previous summer, he had gained a vote on the board, though he had given his proxy to an old friend of his father, Russell Zang.  
  
"But I thought you wanted to get your business degree and take over your father's company," Willow said, surprised by the news that her friend had no intention of going to college.  
  
Xander shrugged, digging out a Twinkie from his knapsack. "I have better ways of using time I'd spend in school," he muttered as he tore off the plastic wrapper.  
  
Before Willow could demand to know exactly what was more important than school, Cordelia Chase appeared. As usual, she completely ignored the redhead. "Xander! There you are! Have you heard?"  
  
"Heard what?" Xander asked as he chewed his Twinkie.  
  
Cordelia gave her boyfriend a look of disapproving shock. "Where have you been? Jessica got saved by The Bat last night! Everyone knows about it!"  
  
"We didn't," Willow replied, looking at Xander for confirmation, which he gave with a silent nod.  
  
"Well watched how surprised I am that geeky-gay you didn't know something important," Cordelia said, rolling her eyes. "Maybe if you took a minute to stop staring a pictures of the cheerleaders on your computer, you'd know about what goes on around you!"  
  
Willow stood up and stared directly at Cordelia, the tone of her skin getting closer to the colour of her hair. She was preparing to put the Aikido training she'd been taking to use, when Xander put a hand on her shoulder. "Cor, if you don't apologize to Willow right now, you can turn around and keep walking."  
  
Both Willow and Cordelia knew Xander was serious simply by the quiet way he spoke. Cordelia looked at her boyfriend for a moment, before turning to Willow, sighing. "I'm sorry, Willow."  
  
Willow would have told her where she could shove her apology, but the slightly pleading look in Xanders' eye made her hold her tongue. "It's alright," she said instead, sitting back down next to Xander. "You were saying something about The Bat?"  
  
"Right," Cordelia said, giving Willow one last glare, before turning to Xander. "Jessica was walking home from the Bronze last night, when some creep grabbed her. She got pulled into this alley, and was about to probably be raped and killed when the Bat showed up and saved her! That makes it like.the third time this month!"  
  
"What happened to the guy that grabbed her?" Willow asked, worry on her face.  
  
"Who knows?" Cordelia said dismissively. "Who cares?  
  
"Oh! Maybe the Bat ate him!" Willow said, suddenly excited.  
  
Cordelia smiled. "Yeah! Took him back to its nest and sucked his blood!"  
  
Both girls seemed to take great satisfaction in the imagined fate of Jessica's attacker, until Xander snorted. "Giant bats that suck blood. I think you two are watching too many cheesy horror movies."  
  
"Come on, Xander" Willow said, her face becoming serious. "Even you have to admit that these people saw something."  
  
Xander shrugged. "Who knows what they saw? In traumatic situations, a person's mind can turn a shadow into a six foot bat." Crumpling up the wrapper from his Twinkie, Xander threw it into a garbage can twenty feet away.  
  
"Well SOMEone saved Jessica last night," Cordelia said, her face determined. "Jessica might be an airhead, but she wouldn't lie."  
  
Xander yawned and stood up. "You two can believe what you like. I'm going to class."  
  
The two girls watched as Xander made his way through the throng of students also heading into the school. When he disappeared in the crush, Willow and Cordelia looked at each other and seemed surprise to see each other. Cordelia wrinkled her nose and turned quickly away from the redheaded girl and stalked back toward her group of friends.  
  
Willow, suddenly alone, sighed and picked up her bag. As she turned to head toward the entrance a hand tapped her on the shoulder. "Cordy will you lay off already?" she said as she turned around, expecting to see Xander's girlfriend sneering at her.  
  
Instead, a pretty blond girl she didn't know smiled uncertainly at her. "Um.hi. I'm looking for the Principal's Office." The smile got a tad bigger. "My name's Buffy." 


	3. Chapter 2

Xander Harris was staring out the window from his seat at the back of the classroom. Last periods' history test had gone as well as he expected. His memory was perfect, his recall absolute. He'd aced the test with little trouble. That was the real reason school bored him. It didn't attempt to teach him anything new. He'd read the textbooks, and than some.  
  
So everyday he sat in class, stared out windows and thought of nightfall. He was uncomfortable during the day. He felt caged, that he should be planning his route for the night, priming and readying his tools. And he'd been doing just that if it weren't for Alfred. His old friend and guardian was the one reason Xander even left his home during the day. "Social interaction, Master Xander," is what he told the boy everyday as he saw him to the door. "Enjoy your youth as you can, sir. It will be gone before you realize."  
  
So Xander was forced to get a life. He was more than content to spend is free time at home, training and researching. Instead, he went to see bad movies with Willow, and eat at trendy restaurants with Cordelia. Went to parties, but never stayed long. Drove flashy cars up to the bluffs, and made out with Cordelia the way a boy his age was supposed to. He was popular and well liked, but not to an outrageous degree. While he could play the social butterfly to a degree, his heart wasn't in it.  
  
Different theories floated around the halls of Sunnydale High about why Xander tended to separate himself from everyday life as a teenager. Some, usually guys, thought him a snob who thought he was too high class to waste his time going to football games and school dances. Others, usually girls, thought him a recluse, scarred by the death of his parents and living practically alone in a mansion in the hills. The answer was a little of both. Xander didn't think that he was 'too good' to socialize with his peers, but had more important and fulfilling ways of spending his time. And it was the violent death of his parents that gave him that perspective.  
  
Tearing his eyes from the scenery outside of the classroom, Xander surveyed the rest of the class. The teacher was attempting to explain the second law of thermodynamics to a more or less attentive room of students. His eyes sought out, as they usually did when given the opportunity, Cordelia Chase. His girlfriend was the most popular girl in school. Strikingly beautiful, only daughter of the second richest family in town, Cordelia was exactly who people thought Xander should be dating. As the most well known, if definitely not the most liked, pair in school, people thought it was only natural that the May Queen and the Playboy be a couple. That was the only reason why, when Xander realized that he needed to date someone, if for nothing but appearance sake, Cordelia Chase was the natural choice.  
  
When he had first asked her out, during a then rare night at the Bronze with Willow and her girlfriend Tara, the only one who was surprised was Willow. The animosity between his best friend and Cordelia was long and well documented, and the redhead had been shocked that her oldest friend and her oldest enemy had hooked up. But Willow had grudgingly given Xander her approval, happy that he was finally interested in someone, if not thrilled with the object of that interest.  
  
Xander had thought, probably like most at Sunnydale High, that Cordelia was simply a beautiful, superficial airhead. A 'trophy' girlfriend to have on his arm. He was comfortable with that preconception. A visible relationship that didn't involve emotional attachments was just what Xander was looking for. Cordelia though had surprised her suitor with her very well hidden depths and layers. Cordelia was surprisingly smart and well spoken. In private, away from prying eyes, Queen C was much, much more then how she appeared in the halls of school. Watching her now, taking notes on their teachers' explanation, Xander smiled slightly at the thought that he wasn't the only one who wore masks while in public. "Though I'm probably the only one who wears one in private too," he thought with little amusement.  
  
In the front row of the class sat his best friend, Willow Rosenburg. Friends since the dawn of time, Xander and Willow were inseparable when they were younger. Jesse Owen, who had made the third part of the triumph- of-outcasts, had died during their second year of high school. A victim of "stab wounds to the neck and chest" according to the official coroner's report, though Xander of course knew better. He'd dusted Jess himself.  
  
Willow was, like most of the town, utterly oblivious to the dangers that lived in Sunnydale. Xander had considered telling her the truth about the vampires and assorted demons that infested the city, but had chosen to give her the peace of mind of ignorance instead. "I'll protect her above all others," Xander had vowed when he'd first begun his nocturnal activities.  
  
And he had kept that vow over the years in many different ways. His reward was the satisfaction of seeing his best friend begin to finally bloom into the person he'd always known was there. Her acceptance of her sexuality, her open thirst for knowledge that was such a contrast to his own clinical approach and her growing confidence in herself. He was relieved to know that she had moved on from her juvenile crush on him and into a real relationship with someone who could give her the love she deserved. As the only person, other then Alfred, who he trusted implicitly, Xander would never have risked his friendship with Willow in that kind of relationship, no matter how tempting it had been. "And damn me to hell, it was tempting sometimes," Xander thought to himself with some fondness. Willow was the day to his night. Her innocence and general exuberance for life was in stark contrast to Xanders' own cynical and black and white outlook on the world. Willow was a living reminder of why he had taken on the mantel that he had.  
  
Letting his eyes drift again, Xander noticed the girl sitting beside Willow. Their desks were pushed close together so Willow could share her textbook with her. "New girl," Xander mused as he observed the blond girl with a discriminating eye. Very attractive, rather petite looking, she was focused intently on the teachers' lecture. While Xander watched, she seemed to tense slightly, raising her head from her notebook as if she knew she was being watched. Xander was surprised when she turned her head and almost immediately locked eyes with him. Xander gave her a slightly embarrassed smile which caused her to blush slightly and turn around quickly.  
  
The new girl seemed to whisper something to Willow, who looked up and smiled knowingly at her friend, before whispering back. The blond girl turned around again and gave Xander a quick smile before burying her head in her notebook. Xander looked around quickly to see if anyone had noticed the incident and soon found Cordelia watching him with a dangerous glint in her eyes.  
  
With a seemingly lazy smile Xander again looked out the window of the classroom, one thought coming to his mind as he watched a breeze ruffle the bushes outside. "Who would have believed physics class was more dangerous then fighting the undead?"  
  
  
  
.___.___.  
  
  
  
Sunnydale High School was a perfect representation of the city as a whole. It was large, rather gothic-looking and to someone who hadn't been around it for most of their lives, had a sinister air to it. To Buffy Summers, LA refugee, new girl and Slayer, it just gave her the creeps. "Like the rest of this town," she thought to herself as she walked beside Willow through the rather badly lit hallway and out into the interior courtyard of the school.  
  
Walled in on all sides by the immense school, the inner courtyard was an oasis of light and nature in a sea of dark and forbidding towers and campus buildings. It had fresh green grass, an assortment of trees and benches scattered around where students could sit and study in the sunlight. Now, at lunchtime, the sun shown straight down into the courtyard chasing all but the most stubborn of shadows away and leaving the area bathed in warm and friendly light.  
  
It was toward one of those stubborn shadows that Willow led her, chatting the whole way about the virtues of Sunnydale. "Did you know that per-capita, Sunnydale is the 4th richest city in America? I mean, there isn't more then 20,000 people in this town!" Turning to look at Buffy, Willow gave her small smile. "That makes middle class kids like you and me into this town's version of poor white trash."  
  
Buffy had been aware of the extreme wealth of Sunnydale. It was one the main reason her mother had been so psyched at getting the opportunity to run the Sunnydale Art Gallery. While not as big as some galleries in LA or New York, or even Metropolis, the SAG had one of the best-rated collections of artwork in the country. 'And if me and Willow are minnows in this town, there's the Great White Shark,' the Slayer thought to herself as she caught sight of who was sitting under the tree they were headed toward.  
  
Buffy Summer's was the Slayer. The Chosen One. She faced certain death on a regular basis for almost 4 years now. Yet when she'd caught that boy staring at her in class earlier, her heart had leapt up into her throat. She'd decapitated Chaos demons without batting an eye, but when Harris looked at her, she'd been pinned to her chair as if he'd shot a crossbow through her heart. She hadn't been starstruck, she knew that. She'd lived in LA her whole life and bumped into more then her share of celebrities. Anyway, she hadn't known exactly who he was when she first saw him sitting by a window in the back of the class, looking bored beyond belief. But she knew he'd been looking at her, the extrasensory perception that came with being a Slayer and that usually warned her when a vampire or demon was stalking her, had started tingling in away it had never before. When she'd turned around she's expected to find anything but the smiling face of a great looking guy staring back at her. She'd been embarrassed and surprised and had quickly turned back around, asking Willow in a whisper who he was. "Oh, that's just Xander," the redhead had whispered with a smile. "He's my best friend." After class Willow explained more fully about who he was, and Buffy had turned redder then her new friend's hair when she learned that Alexander Harris had been staring at her. And had smiled at her.  
  
If the Kennedy's were considered America's Royal Family, then Alexander Harris was easily American Nobility. His face had graced more covers of People, Fortune and Teen Scream then anyone under the age of 35. Young girls across the world had his picture posted in their bedrooms, lockers and binders. The American answer to Prince William. Ultra-rich, movie star looks, and a tragic air about him, made him the most eligible bachelor in the United States, next to maybe Lex Luthor. Buffy's younger sister, Dawn, had had his picture pasted to her binder before they'd moved to Sunnydale. Now that she lived in the same town with Harris, she was practically in a frothing frenzy to meet him. It seemed Buffy though would beat her too it, as Willow happily lead her toward the young man  
  
Dressed in a dark blue sweater and black slacks, Alexander Harris looked most at home in the shadow of the tree he sat under. As the girls approached him, the boy Willow had called 'Xander' seemed to have his mind a million miles away, his eyes looking at the clear blue sky as his fingers lightly brushed across the top of the grass he sat on. Once the girls got within ten feet of him however, his eyes drifted toward them and took them both in with a glance. "Hey Will," the dark haired boy said in greeting, a lazy smile spreading across his face. "And this must be the newest member of our student body, Elisabeth Summers."  
  
Both girls looked at him with surprise, Willow's was small, as she knew her friend had a habit of knowing everything before anyone else. Buffy's was much bigger however, mainly because of his use of her full first name. "Buffy," she said without thinking, looking down at the smiling face of Sunnydale's biggest playboy.  
  
The chocolate eyes that had watched her in class now twinkled with amusement while he raised an eyebrow at her. "Gazuntight."  
  
"No, stupid!" Willow exclaimed with a laugh. "Her name is Buffy!"  
  
"Oh." Xander said with a bit of surprise in his voice. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Excuse me?" Buffy said, now scowling at the boy.  
  
The young man blinked for a moment, looking to a giggling Willow and then back at Buffy. "I meant I was sorry I got your name wrong. Not that you're name is Buffy." This caused Buffy to blush slightly and Willow to giggle harder.  
  
"It's okay," Buffy said quietly, still blushing from her confusion.  
  
The boy gave her a smile that was equal parts teasing and good humor. "I'm Xander, though you probably already knew that."  
  
"Wow, conceited much?" Buffy said balking at his apparent arrogance. "Because no one could possibly not know who you are, huh?"  
  
Those brown eyes cooled for a moment as Xander stared at her, taking her sudden hostility with measure, before the amusement returned and he exchanged a quick look with Willow. "Not at all," he said coolly, leaning back against the tree a bored smile back on his face. "I just assumed that Willow had already told who I was. I apologize, again, if I assumed too much. I'm Alexander Harris, but most people at school call me Xander."  
  
"Oh." Buffy said, doing her best to reign in this fresh burst of embarrassment. "I'm sorry."  
  
Xander seemed untroubled, and simply shrugged away her apology, instead looking at Willow. "Hey, Will," he said to his friend, his bored smile becoming cocky in flash of teeth. "Want to guess what my grade was on that English test we had on Monday."  
  
With what sounded to Buffy like a long-suffering sigh, Willow took a seat on the grass and motioned the blonde girl to do the same. "Let me guess.an A, maybe?"  
  
Cocky smile still in place, Xander shrugged again and looked back up at the sky. "Told ya, you worry over nothing."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Willow said with another sigh, turning to give Buffy a look of mock disgust. "See, it's not bad enough that Xander here is rich and good looking, but he's also possibly the smartest person in this school. Only reason he doesn't have a 4.0 is because he thinks travelling the world for months at a time during the school year, is more important." Turning to look at the dark haired boy again, Willow gave him a stern look. "I really hate you sometimes."  
  
Xander took a break from his sky watching to give Willow a shocked look. "Hate? Me? Impossible! I mean, aside from being rich, good looking and smart, all valid points I'll grant you, I have the key to you're heart young lady." With a grin, Xander produced a familiar looking golden snack cake wrapped in plastic, and proceeded to taunt Willow with it as she tried to reach for it. "Now, now! How can I give this delectable piece of golden goodness to someone who claims to hate me?"  
  
"Xan-der!" And as Buffy watched in amused silence, Willow attempted to snatch the floating snack cake from her friend's hands, only to be denied again. "Okay! Fine! I don't hate you! In fact, you're the greatest human being ever to walk the face of the earth! Happy?" Willow then proceeded to pout, while Xander seemed to think things over.  
  
"It'll do," Xander said finally, smiling at Buffy as he tossed the snack into Willow's hands.  
  
Buffy then watched slightly stunned, as the seemingly subdued Willow tore into the wrapper and took a huge bite out of the cake. "The key to your heart is a ho-ho?" the Slayer asked skeptically.  
  
"Twinkie!" Willow corrected with a mouth full golden cake and cream filling. "It's a Twinkie, not a ho-ho!" She said when she finally finished off the snack cake with a satisfied smile.  
  
"Uh-huh," Buffy said, watching the small girl lick her fingers with obvious enjoyment. "You do realize just how odd that is, right?"  
  
Before Willow could defend herself or her odd fetish for Twinkies, Xander's amused voice broke in, though he was back to staring at the sky. "Didn't they tell you when you moved here, Ms. Summers? In Sunnydale, odd is the norm."  
  
"Aw crap!" Willow suddenly exclaimed, causing Buffy to jump a bit and Xander to chuckle. "I just remembered, I have to do something before the end of lunch." Jumping to her feet, the redhead brushed the grass from her backside and smiled apologetically at Buffy and Xander, though only Buffy saw it, as Xander still hadn't brought his eyes from looking up above. When Buffy made a move to get up as well, Willow put a hand up to stop her. "No! Stay. Enjoy you're lunch. I'm sure Xander will be more then happy to keep you company, isn't that right Xand?"  
  
Xander made a non-committed grunt, which was obviously enough for Willow, who picked up her bag, gave Buffy a big smile, then quickly walked away. Leaving the Slayer alone with a boy whom seemed to be ignoring her. Sighing, Buffy took her lunch out of her backpack. 'If Mr. Wonderful thinks he's too good to talk to me, well then fine! I don't want to talk to him anyway.'  
  
That vow lasted till she had finished the small salad her mother had packed for her, and then the silence seemed to be overwhelmingly uncomfortable. At least to Buffy. Xander seemed perfectly fine to simply stare up at the sky, only taking a break to watch Buffy eat for a moment before returning.  
  
Finally Buffy couldn't take the silence anymore, and turned to look at the dark haired boy with an angry expression on her face. "What exactly is your problem?" she demanded.  
  
Turning his head to look at her, Xander gave the Slayer a look of amused boredom, a look that Buffy was beginning to believe was his usual expression. "You know, once you've been in Sunnydale a little longer, you'll learn that I don't have problems. Not any you'd understand, anyway."  
  
"Well excuse me, Mr. Harris!" Buffy almost snarled, giving the young billionaire a look that a few truly unlucky vampires had seen, before they were dust at the end of her stake. "I'm obviously just too poor, ugly and stupid to even being to comprehend what a man.sorry, what a boy of your obviously disadvantaged upbringing must consider a problem. I mean, deciding on which limo to take to school and which platinum card to use to pay for your imported mineral water! Yes, truly your problems are far beyond the meager comprehension of a lesser being, such as I!"  
  
As Buffy caught her breath after her outburst and did her best not to give into the temptation to throw the boy through the nearest wall, Xander simply tilted his head and gave her an innocent look. "I didn't mean to insinuate that you were ugly."  
  
Her eyes flashing in shock and anger, the Slayer prepared to pummel the little rich boy into the next fashion season, when a voice over her shoulder stopped her. "And what do we have here?" Turning, Buffy saw a dark haired girl wearing what was obviously a skirt and sweater combo worth more then her home computer, smirking at her and Xander. "My, my Mr. Harris! I thought Willow was the only one you slummed with!"  
  
'My God,' Buffy thought as she watched the girl's expensively made up lips twist into an even bigger mocking smile. 'Is everyone is this stupid town a complete snob?'  
  
Though it was when Xander stared hard at the girl with a frown, that Buffy really was shocked. "Cordy, we've talked about this irritating habit you have of insulting my best friend, and just how much I don't like it." It took Buffy a moment to realize that Xander was referring to the comment about Willow. "And I'm not slumming. I'm enjoying a lovely day with my new friend Buffy." The Slayer was still stunned when Xander gave her an apologetic look, before turning his eyes back to the brunette. "Buffy, this is Cordelia Chase. Cordy, this is Buffy Summers. She's new to Sunnydale, and we were just discussing the rather interesting social dynamic that our happy town has created."  
  
The girl, Cordelia, gave Buffy a glare of obvious hostility, before turning to face Xander and ignoring her completely. "Are you coming to the Bronze tonight?"  
  
"Doubtful." Xander said almost immediately, leaning back against the tree. "I've got a pile of proposals that Russell wants me to review."  
  
"Oh come on, Xander!" Cordelia almost whined, much to Buffy's irritation. "You never come out and hang like a normal boyfriend. It's always just me and you at you're place."  
  
Xander gave Buffy a quick look, before quirking an eyebrow and smiling at Cordelia. "And here I thought you enjoyed our alone time together."  
  
Now Cordelia gave the Slayer a quick look before looking at Xander, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. "You so know that's not what I meant!" Sighing, she continued more quietly. "You know I love.our alone time. It's just, I want to go out with you and be social!" The brunette smiled slightly. "Anyway, what's the point of dating the hottest guy in the world, if I can't take you out and make the other girls jealous? And with that Bat-thing flying around, I'd feel a lot better with you there to protect me."  
  
Xander rolled his eyes, but couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Okay. I'll meet you there around nine. I can't promise I'll stay long, though. I really do have work to do tonight."  
  
"Great!" Swooping down, Cordelia kissed Xander lightly at first, then deepened the kiss when she noticed Buffy watching quietly. "I've got to meet the Dance Committee now, but I'll see you tonight. And I'm sure I'll be able to keep you out longer then you expect." Then, giving Xander one last kiss, and Buffy one last glare, Cordelia was walking purposely away toward a group of students on the far side of the courtyard.  
  
Xander watched her go, a faint smile on his lips. "You'll have to excuse Cordelia. She's a little.intense when she first meets someone, but she's really a lot nicer once you get to know her."  
  
"I'm sure," Buffy said with a snort, though her mind was on something else that the brunette had said. "What was that a 'Bat-thing' flying around town?"  
  
When Xander turned to look at her again, her Slayer-sense tingled slightly again when his dark eyes looked at her with a guarded expression. It faded again when he gave her his bored smile again. "People have reported seeing a bat-man flying around." Shrugging, Xander stretched his back before he again leaned back against the tree. "Probably hallucinations brought on by alcohol, fear of the dark or over active imagination. I really wouldn't worry about it."  
  
"Yeah," Buffy said automatically, her mind already racing with possibilities. 'Maybe it's a demon,' the Slayer thought immediately. If it was, then she wasn't surprised by Xander's dismissal of it. She knew most people had the uncanny ability to ignore the demonic creatures that stalked the night, and Xander had already proven to her that he could just about ignore anything he wanted to. "I've gotta go. Pick up my text books." Seeing Xander's confused expression, Buffy quickly packed up the remains of her lunch and got up. "I mean, I have to go to the library to pick up my text books. Might as well do it now, right?" Xander just shrugged and watched wipe the grass off her butt. "So.yeah. Thanks for the company. Was.interesting. Later!" Without waiting for a reply, Buffy quickly started walking away from the boy and toward the nearest entrance of the school.  
  
Buffy knew that if this thing people were seeing was a demon, she needed the skinny on it in order to slay it. So she headed to the one person she knew would have it. The school Librarian and her Watcher, Rupert Giles 


	4. Chapter 3

Title: Dark Knight Over Sunnydale -3/?  
  
Author: Godeater  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own jack. Or anyone else that might appear in this thing.  
  
Summery: Xander's the original Dark Avenger. AU obviously.  
  
Notes: This story has the same title as another Batman/Buffy fic I had started. I threw that one away. Now I'm writing this one. See how that works out? *g*  
  
  
  
Rupert Giles was enjoying his position as Librarian of Sunnydale High School, for a number of reasons. First was the school itself. It was large and spacious, very much unlike Hermey High School in Los Angeles. Sunnydale High reminded him of the public school he had gone to back home in England. The Library itself was another benefit. While the one at Hermey had been rather small and very unappealing, the one in Sunnydale High had it's own separate wing in the school. It was large and airy, great stained-glass windows filtered the sunlight, giving the main room a comfortable feeling. Three floors held thousands of books of every kind. A series of small rooms on the second floor were made so students could study in peace. But most of all, it was almost always empty.  
  
The students of Sunnydale High School rarely used this magnificent library, choosing instead to use the smaller public library, or the much larger reference library in Gotham City. That tendency to forget this part of school existed was a great relief to Giles, as it gave him the security to conduct training sessions with Buffy without much threat of interruption. The other, mostly trivial aspect, was that Giles didn't have to deal with teenagers much. Sitting in his office, sipping a cup of tea, Rupert Giles once again sighed at his good fortune and enjoyed the peace and quiet.  
  
Which is probably why Buffy chose that moment to charge into the library.  
  
His moment of Zen at an end, Giles rose from his desk and exited his office, raising an eyebrow at the serious look on his Slayer's face. "Something I can help you with, Buffy?"  
  
"Yeah," Buffy answered, throwing herself into a plush leather chair. "A bat. A big one. Apparently flying around my new town, eating people."  
  
"Ah," the Watcher responded with a smile, taking a seat on the long table that ran through the main room. "You refer to the mysterious 'Man- bat' that is being written about in the papers."  
  
"It made it into the newspaper?" Buffy asked with surprise. "Whatever happened to the 'ignorance is bliss' thing that was going on in LA? And what kinda info do you have on this thing?"  
  
"Calm yourself, Buffy." Taking his glasses off to give them a cleaning, Giles shook his head. "There is no such creature as is being described by the newspapers. It's most likely just hysteria. People seeing something in the shadows."  
  
Buffy looked at her watcher in mild shock. "I cannot believe I just heard you, of all people, say something like that!"  
  
"Buffy, I heard about this phantom my first day in this town," the Englishman said with a sigh. "I researched all my books for something…anything that would fit the description that is given. There is nothing!" Placing his glasses back on his face, Giles shrugged. "For once, I think that it really is nothing." Giles raised his hand even before Buffy could argue. "There is no such thing as a giant flying bat that eats people. The closest thing that I've come across is a gargoyle. Those are no larger then three feet tall and they only attack dogs."  
  
Buffy stared at her Watcher, unhappy for some reason. "Well…those people are seeing something!"  
  
Giles shrugged again, apparently unconcerned. "It's probably just rumor and…what you Americans like to refer to as 'hype'. One person saw something, probably a regular vampire or a common demon. They told someone else, who told someone else, and so on. Till this one incident took on almost legendary proportions. Now, every time someone sees something in the dark they don't understand, they call it this 'Man-bat'. It's an easy way for a populace to explain the unexplainable. Urban legend, nothing more."  
  
"Maybe," the Slayer said reluctantly.  
  
"Buffy, you are the Slayer. The Chosen One. You should be concerning yourself with real dangers! Not non-existent bogeyman."  
  
"Fine!" Buffy said in exasperation. "Tell me, oh wise Watcher of mine! What are the real dangers I need to worry about?"  
  
Giles now smiled with something close to real excitement. "This town is sitting right on top of a Hellmouth!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"A Hellmouth! A mystical convergence of otherworldly energies, that attracts demons, vampires and other creatures like a magnate attracts metal! A potential doorway to a Hell-dimension!"  
  
"Okay," Buffy drawled. "Sleepy little town of rich people is a monster magnet and a the welcome mat to Hell. Got it. Just one question; where do they all hide?"  
  
Giles gave his Slayer a confused look. "Excuse me?"  
  
Sighing, Buffy got up and started to pace. "I mean, I don't know if you noticed, but this town ain't exactly huge. In fact it's small! Really small. Aside from the grandiose buildings and mansions, there aren't all that many places for demons to hide. The town has one small cemetery. One! I did a patrol of the town last night after Mom and Dawn went to bed. It took me an hour! And I did find one thing to kill. Aside from the apparent Bat sighting last night, there was nothing. Hellmouth or not, there is very little in this town that is slay-worthy."  
  
"Yes," Giles affirmed, eyes apparently tired. "I wondered about that myself. The lack of hiding places and the fact that Sunnydale is a rather small hunting ground. I can only conclude that, while this town sits atop the center of the Hellmouth, its main effects reach into Gotham City…"  
  
"Gotham City!" Buffy exclaimed, her eyes wide. "You mean that I moved from LA, which was bad enough, to here, just so I could protect possibly the biggest blight on the American landscape??"  
  
"Well, I wouldn't' go that far," the Watcher sniffed. "Gotham City is hardly unattractive. I mean, its architecture alone is by far superior to say, that of Los Angeles…"  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure that its hundred story skyscrapers are simply breathtaking" Buffy said, annoyance audible in her tone. "What I MEANT was that I'm used to things trying to bite me and eat me, not being shot at by big men named Mario. I mean, jeez! Gotham City has more people each year from homicides then from cancer!"  
  
"That's an exaggeration, I'm sure." Giles responded sarcastically. "Either way, it's the only place around the Hellmouth large enough to support the numbers of demons that it must attract. Also, the Hellmouth probably explains a much of the violence that happens there. Besides, LA was hardly an oasis of law and order, and you managed find there for three years."  
  
"Giles, have you ever been to Gotham City?" the young girl asked. "I haven't, but I've seen a map of it. It's a maze! The place must have a billion places for demons to setup shop. And that's just the surface! I don't want to even think about what they're sewer system is like!"  
  
"There is no point complaining about it, Buffy" the Englishman said with a verbal shrug. "The fact is, you will have to patrol in Gotham City, as well as in Sunnydale. You're the Slayer. You'll manage. I recommend familiarizing yourself with Sunnydale and Gotham City a little better."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Buffy grumbled grabbing her backpack. "And complaining doesn't need a point. It's an end into itself." Turning to look at her Watcher, the Slayer snapped her fingers. "While I'm here, I need my text books."  
  
While Buffy began to root through her bag for her schedule, Giles went to the counter and reached below, producing a pile of thick books. "I took the liberty of learning your class schedule and gathering the necessary text books for you, this morning."  
  
Eyes wide at the number and size of the textbooks, Buffy sighed and picked them up. "Well, I'm glad to know you've been doing something more productive then sitting in your office, drinking tea." With a glare in her eyes, the Slayer turned and stalked out of the Library.  
  
Rolling his eyes, Giles went back into his office, closing the door behind him.  
  
Which meant neither one of them saw a rather a petite red-haired girl with a stunned expression on her face come down the stairs from the second level. Exiting , Willow simply stood outside the doors to the Library, the book on Percy Shelly that she had gone to the Library for now forgotten. "What the hell is Slayer?"  
  
  
  
…___…___…  
  
  
  
Willow Rosenburg went through the rest of the day in a daze. The conversation she had accidentally overheard in the Library at lunch running over and over in her head. Words like Slayer, demon, and vampire echoed especially loudly. 'It's like they really believe in that stuff,' Willow thought to herself as she exited the school at the end of the day. 'I heard two people having a serious discussion about killing demons.'  
  
While she considered herself very open-minded, the idea that creatures from late night horror movies actually existed and that the small girl she had befriended today actually killed them was almost too much for Willow's brain to wrap around. 'Maybe…maybe there were rehearsing for a play or something. Going over their lines and they didn't know I was there…' But no, while she was far from convinced that Buffy or the librarian were actually right about all that demon stuff, she could tell by their voices that they actually believed it all. 'That makes them either insane or…' Willow couldn't come up with an 'or' that made any sense. 'Or they're right? And there are demons and vampires, and that Sunnydale is on top of some kind of vortex from hell?'  
  
Occupied with these thoughts, Willow exited the school and walked right past Xander without noticing. "Hey," he said in greeting, falling into step beside her. "You okay?"  
  
"Oh!" Willow said in surprise, blushing slightly. "Sorry Xander. I'm just thinking about…something."  
  
"It's okay." Giving her an appraising look, her dark-haired friend gave her a smile. "If it's something you need to talk about…"  
  
"No," Willow said right away, causing Xander to raise an eyebrow at her. "I mean…it's a secret. I think. I'm not sure…"  
  
Xander stared her for a moment, his dark eyes seeming to look into her soul. Then he shrugged and smiled again. "Okay. Better not tell me then. You know I can't keep a secret very long."  
  
"Right!" Willow said, relieved that her friend wouldn't push. "You're the biggest flibbery-gibbit in Sunnydale!"  
  
"Part of my charm," Xander said, giving her a wink, before turning serious. "Are you and Tara going to the Bronze tonight?"  
  
"I don't know," Willow said with a shrug of her own. "Maybe. I mean, there's nothing else to do that doesn't involve a trip into Gotham. Why?"  
  
"Well, Cordy kinda talked me into going tonight, and I was hoping, well, praying actually, that I would have someone to talk to…that, you know…"  
  
"Had a brain?" Willow supplied, giving her friend a sweet and innocent smile.  
  
Xander sighed a long suffering sigh, making Willow immediately regret her words. "Will, I know Cordy makes it hard sometimes, but I really want you to get along with her."  
  
"I know," Willow answered, frowning a bit. "But you're right. She does make it hard, and more then sometimes. Face it, Xander. She and I are from different worlds, and I don't think we'll ever get along."  
  
Xander sighed again, before a slight smirk formed on his lips. "Speaking of getting along, you and your new friend seemed awfully chummy at lunch. I think I may feel the need to warn Tara of competition."  
  
"Please!" Willow exclaimed with mock indignation. "There's only one blonde gal that I have eyes for, and it's not Buffy Summers." Now the redhead smirked, resuming their walk out of the school. "Anywise, I saw you looking at her in class this morning. You sure it isn't me who should be warning Cordelia about competition?"  
  
"Right." Xander replied dismissivly. "You know, I'm not as shallow as you may think I am, Willow. Takes more then a pretty face to interest me."  
  
Willow stopped and put a hand on Xander's arm. "I don't think you're shallow, Xander. Which is why I just don't get you and Cordelia." Willow knew that this was a conversation they'd had many times, but she just couldn't let it go. "Yeah, she's gorgeous, I can admit that. But other then her looks, I don't see what could interest you about her. You make references to her depth and layers, but I don't see it. Everyday I see her belittle and mock people who she thinks are her inferiors. I don't understand how you, one of the most kind and open-minded people I've ever met, could be with someone like that."  
  
Xander looked down at Willow, knowing that his friend was generally confused. "Will, I don't want to keep having this conversation with you. You're right, if the impression that you have of Cordy were right, I wouldn't be with her." Seeing the unsatisfied look on Willow's face, Xander smiled at her. "You think that Cordelia uses her social standing as a weapon to hurt people. Well I know that she uses it as a shield to keep people at a distance."  
  
Willow remained unconvinced. "That's crap," she said with confidence. "Cordelia is the most popular girl in school. She basks in the envy and attention she gets. That doesn't sound like a someone who uses a shield to me."  
  
"She's jealous of you," Xander said quietly.  
  
Willow gave him an incredulous look. "What?"  
  
"You heard me." Xander gave her a hard look, but placed his hand over the one she still had on his arm to temper it. "Everyone respects you, not because of how much money you have or who you're dating, but because you're you. You're smart, pretty and kind." Ignoring the blush that she knew was rising on her cheeks, stayed silent. "People are your friends because they want to be, not because you're a step on a social ladder. People respect you, while they fear her. She knows the difference."  
  
"You're making this up," Willow said, still not willing to believe it.  
  
Dropping his hand to his side, Xander straightened his back slightly. "I wouldn't lie to you, Willow," the dark-haired boy said calmly, though Willow could detect a bit of hurt in his eyes. "She knows you don't think much of her, that's why she talks to you the way she does. She tries to distract you by insulting you, so that you don't see how much she likes you. You're my best friend and Cordy knows it. She knows that you are a major part of my life and it bugs her to no end that you think so little of her." With one last sigh, Xander started walking away toward the student parking lot. "And frankly, it's starting to bug me too."  
  
Watching her best friend walk away disappointed in her, made Willow's stomach twist. She'd had no idea that Cordelia was jealous of her. It was almost too much to believe, but she knew to her soul that Xander wouldn't have told her if it wasn't. 'He's not the type to cover other people's short comings, no matter who they are,' she thought with certainty. 'And it really bothers him that Cordelia and I fight so much.' Running to catch up, Willow stepped in front of Xander and blocked his progress. "I'm didn't know," she said simply, meaning both what he'd said about Cordelia and the obviously real feelings he had for her.  
  
"Now you do," Xander answered just as simply.  
  
They stared at each other for a moment, reading more in each others eyes and body language then anyone could suspect. Willow knew that her best friend of a master at hiding his emotions and thoughts, whether it was with an amused smile or blank face. But she could read him better then even Alfred, and he knew it. Just like she knew that she was an open book to him, whether she wanted to be or not. Both knew that they could not see each other for years, and they'd still be able to do it.  
  
"So, you think Buffy's pretty, eh?" Willow said with a smile, to break the tension.  
  
Xander started walking again, knowing that Willow was right beside him "Excuse me?"  
  
"You said it takes more then a pretty face to interest you," she said, a teasing glint in her eyes. "That means you think Buffy has a pretty face."  
  
"Yeah, she's pretty. Very pretty, even," Xander answered and then shrugged. "But there's something about her that's…odd. Anyway, I don't think she likes me very much."  
  
"Why?" Willow asked, knowing that he'd done something deliberately. "What did you do?"  
  
"Nothing!" Xander said, stressing his innocence. "After you left, we sat there for awhile. She was eating her lunch and I was thinking about…stuff. Then she freaked out on me. I think that she thinks that I'm a snob."  
  
Willow stared at her friend with suspicion. "And what might have given her that impression, hmm?"  
  
Willow saw a flash of what she guessed was embarrassment cross Xander's face, before it was covered by a bored detachment. "I…may have been…slightly withdrawn. I had…other things on my mind."  
  
Willow tried to think what might have stopped the usually suave and friendly Xander from chatting up a girl as attractive and pleasant as she knew Buffy was. It suddenly dawned on her. 'It's almost the anniversary of his parents death.' She did her best to hide the fact that she knew, knowing that her friend never talked about that event. "Well, I'm sure she was just nervous. First day in school and all. Plus, you are a kind of celebrity, you know…"  
  
Xander rolled his eyes, as Willow knew he would. While not embarrassed by his status in pop culture, the girl knew her friend disliked it sometimes. "Well then she's definitely not my type. Anyone who can't look past a magazine cover holds no interest for me."  
  
Reaching the parking lot, Xander turned and smiled at Willow, cocking his head toward his motorcycle. "Do you want a ride home?"  
  
It was the usual offer. And more often then not, Willow accepted. She was about to do just that now, when a flash of blond hair caught her eye. She saw Buffy walking down the steps of the school and turning in the same direction of her home. "Um, not today. I think I'll walk." Xander raised an eyebrow and followed her eyes. Willow gave him a quick smile. "It's her first day. I thought she'd like some company afterward…and maybe I can convince her you're not an asshole."  
  
Xander gave her an amused grin, a real one, before walking off toward his bike. "Don't hurt yourself," he said over his shoulder, a sparkle in his eye.  
  
Laughing, Willow turned and watched Buffy started walking by herself away from the school. Hurrying to catch up, the redhead took a deep breath. 'We have things to talk about, Miss Buffy Summers.' 


	5. Chapter 4

If one were to look at a map of Southern California and tried to locate the town of Sunnydale, they wouldn't find it easily. On many maps, the town is usually considered part of Gotham City, that third great city of California. Barely one mile separates the town of 20,000 from the city of almost 2 million. That road isn't even a highway as it is a street with nothing on it. Called 'No Man's Land' by residents of both cities, there are only streetlights along it, nothing else. No houses, no stores, no bars or rest stops. No police patrolled it, and neither city owned it. It was an empty little spot between what was supposed to be a small, exclusive little town, and what many considered one of the most unique cities in America.  
  
Gotham City was an East Coast city that somehow found its way to California. Unlike Los Angeles or San Francisco, which were built out, Gotham was built up. Its skyscrapers had defied earthquakes, fires and floods for almost 200 years. It was one of the most well known cites in the United States, infamous for the crime rate and the incredible wealth it generated. Second only to New York in high finance, it also boasted the largest and most diversified industrial complex on the West Coast. While stockbrokers and bankers made a killing on the floors of the Gotham Stock Exchange, workers killed themselves producing everything from cars and jet engines to industrial chemicals and fertilizers.   
  
Being so unique had its drawbacks though. The highest violent crime rate in the country was another of Gotham's claim to fame. Since the turn of 20th Century, organized crime had held incredible influence over the bustling city. During prohibition the city had been a battleground for competing crime families and syndicates. While open warfare was rare now, there was a constant undercurrent of danger that filled the city, especially at night. The criminal underground of Gotham City was the real power in the area, its influence stretching like dark tentacles of corruption and decay across the entire city and all across the country. The bosses of Gotham weren't the elected officials and the police, they were the heads of crime families and the legions of thugs and street punks under their employ.   
  
The inhabitants of the city had come to accept the way of things, becoming almost indifferent to the turf wars that would erupt occasionally. While there were still good men and women trying to make the city a better place to live, they were just a handful compared to the thousands that closed their eyes, or the hundreds that were on the take. Corruption was rampet in City Hall and Police Headquarters, where public servants beyond count did the bidding of crime lords, tired of fighting for an apparently lost cause and deciding to get a piece for themselves.  
  
It was in this climate that the people of Sunnydale felt rightly proud of their tiny place on the map. While many people thought that Sunnydale was in fact part of Gotham, anyone from that little town would be happy to tell them that they were, in fact, not. Sunnydale had its own police and fire departments. Sunnydale Memorial Hospital may have been small, but it was just as equipped as its larger Gotham counterparts. The town boasted its own grade, junior and high schools, the latter of which was considered one of the best in the country. Sunnydale High School would only except students from families living in the town, which in practicality made it more exclusive then many private schools.  
  
On the very outskirts of Sunnydale, well outside the town limits, was a castle. Harris Manor had been transported stone by massive stone from England. Completely restored to its 16th century grandeur, the impressive structure that had once stood guard at York, was now nestled in the high hills of Southern California. After the Harris' had died, many had expected that Harris Enterprises would petition to have the castle turned into a historical landmark and tourist site. That hadn't happened of course, when a young Alexander Harris, still morning his parents absolutely refused to part with his home. While the three trustees of the Harris estate could have done it anyway, they'd decided to abide by the young boy's wishes. All but one of the trustees had expected that eventually Xander would tire of being practically alone in the foreboding mansion.  
  
That former trustee and legal guardian to the boy until a few months ago was now dusting the frame of a Rembrant that hung in the main hallway of Harris Manor. Alfred Pennyworth had quite a few 'former' titles to him. Soldier and spy, hero and, in some sadder circumstances beyond his control, villain. Though, for almost 30 years, he'd been the primary caretaker to this huge home, and caregiver to Alexander Harris.  
  
Alfred often thought on the blind luck that had led him to that Gotham apartment all those years ago, answering an advert for a butler in a paper. His first meeting with Dr. and Mrs. Harris, and how they're kindness and excitement for the home they were having built in the hills had made an impression on him. Though he'd never intended or even imagined that he would stay with them so long, he had taken to the young couple quickly, and they to him.   
  
He would regale young Xander with their informality of the first years, how they treated him, not as a paid servant, but as a member of the family, even in front of company. How Richard Harris had balked at being called 'Master' for the first time. The couple had never really gotten comfortable with the titles. They'd eventually consented, at least in public. In private, Alfred was family.   
  
Having no family of his own, or at least none that he had spoken to in decades, Alfred had felt privileged to have been embraced by this family. When the elder Harris' had died and their will made him Xander's guardian and part trustee of the boy's estate he had been awestruck at their trust in giving them their only child to raise. He'd taken that responsibility with a seriousness that sometimes even frightened him. Fiercely protective of the child, Alfred had done everything he could to safeguard Xander, and what he saw as the long-term interests of the boy.   
  
Alfred was not a man easily impressed. Years of intrigue under Her Majesty's Government and decades of experience rubbing elbows with the most elite of high society, had given the old spy a certain perspective on people. But from the moment Alexander Harris had spoken his first words, the boy had continually impressed him. His energy and interest in everything around him. His mind, even at that early age had astounded Alfred. As a child, Xander had shown that even then, when he set his mind to something, whether it was learning to play the piano or learning Latin, he would do it with a single minded determination that often disturbed others around him. He would throw himself into something with no thought to anything else. Alfred had recognized it for what it was; hunger. Hunger for knowledge, for skills, details about everything and anything.   
  
After his parents had died, Xander changed in many ways. He'd become more quite and withdrawn. He would disappear for days at a time, and then show up at their doorstep, bruised and dirty. Alfred never asked where he'd been or what he'd done. The trust between the two, remarkable before the Harris' deaths, was now unbreakable. Secrets were unknown between them. If there was a question, it was answered. It was only Alfred's years of training as both a butler and a government agent that kept his questions to a minimum. He'd learned long ago that Xander would speak when he needed to.  
  
That was how he'd learned of Xander's…crusade. Alfred had watched silently as the years passed. Watched as Xander's interests had shifted from things like music and art, to more…practical things. Like chemistry and metallurgy. Geography and natural sciences. Forensics science and physics. Trips that would lasts months to far remote places in Asia, South America and Africa.   
  
He'd watched as Xander forged his body into a tool. A weapon. He didn't workout for vanity. Didn't train to impress people. Alfred watched without comment as Xander would train himself in dozens of fighting arts. From the most elegant of marital arts to the most grueling forms of street fighting, Alfred had simply cleaned up the bloody towels and sweat stained clothes, never questioning why his young charge was pushing himself toward.  
  
Alfred had known that Xander did nothing without an eye on the larger picture. The boy always thought at least 5 steps ahead of everyone else. Xander Harris was control-obsessed. He needed order. Where there wasn't order, he felt drawn to bring order. Alfred had seen him watching the news, a clenched jaw the only visible sign of his…need. To do something. Anything. It was an almost physical reaction.   
  
So when Xander came to him one night 2 years ago and told him his plan, Alfred finally understood. His first reaction has been to try to talk the boy out of it. A one man crusade against crime? Becoming what was basically a vigilante. It was insane. Unthinkable for a boy not yet old enough to vote, to wage a war without end. Instead, he'd simply asked how he could be of service.   
  
It was that night Batman went from an idea to a reality.  
  
The creation had been slow. It had had to be. There had to be no record of anything. Tools had to be made, bought, and more then a few times, invented from scratch. Machines and computers needed to be found and built. And then there was the Cave…  
  
Sighing to himself, Alfred gazed up at the Remebrant. But now it was all in place. The trail untraceable. And Batman was beginning to make his presence known, not only in Gotham City, but here in Sunnydale as well. The campaign had begun.  
  
His contemplation was interrupted by the familiar sound of a motorcycle engine's growl as it approached. Setting down his feather-duster on an end table, Alfred was waiting by the front door before his charge put his hand on the doorknob, a glass of juice in his hands. "Master Xander," Alfred said in greeting, being relieved of the glass and receiving Xander's motorcycle helmet in its place. "Informative day at school, I trust."  
  
"No."  
  
Xander was a man of few words on a good day, so it was more the tone of his voice that made Alfred raise an eyebrow. Placing the black helmet down on small end table by the front door, he followed the young man as he walked with determination across the main hall. "I'm sure tomorrow will be better, sir."  
"Doubtful."  
  
Alfred watched with concealed concern as Xander removed his leather jacket and tossed it carelessly onto the floor. "Dinner will be served at six o'clock," the butler said as he quickly picked up the jacket and draped it over his arm. "I assume you will want it served in the Cave?"  
  
"Change of plans." Xander continued through the house with Alfred following faithfully at a distance. "I won't be starting my patrol at eight." Walking into his study, the boy didn't stop to even look at his servant. "I have to make an appearance at the Bronze."  
  
"I see, sir." Alfred watched as Xander stopped at his desk for a moment. "I trust Ms. Rosenburg's request has not unduly disrupted your plans."  
  
"Actually it was Cordelia who asked."  
  
"I see, sir." It was only Alfred's years of experience at hiding his emotions that stopped a smile from crossing his features.   
  
"I'll have dinner at seven thirty, if it's not too much trouble." Apparently finding what he was looking for, Xander turned from his desk and headed through the study and down another hallway, his eyes focused on the piece of paper he held.   
  
"No trouble at all, sir." Following him, Alfred nimbly picked up the empty juice glass as Xander placed it on a passing desk. "Will there be anything else?"  
  
"Yes. Could you make sure that the Vauxville is gassed up? I may need to give Cordy, Willow or Buffy a ride home from the Bronze. Cordy refuses to wear a helmet, Willow is scared out of her wits on the bike and…well, I'm not sure what Buffy's opinion is, but if it's like any of the other women in this town, she'll won't want to get on it."  
  
"Buffy? You've made a new friend?" Alfred was proud that he'd managed to keep the surprise out of his voice.  
  
"What? No." Xander stopped and raised his head from his notes to look at his friend with a frown. "She just started moved here. Willow's taken her under her wing, apparently. I don't think she likes me very much." A small smile flashed across Xander's features.  
  
"I'm sure it is a temporary situation that will be soon be rectified, sir." Alfred allowed himself a small smile of his own as he noticed Xander's eyes cloud over in thought.   
  
"She's…interesting." With almost a physical start, Xander's face shifted back into its usual neutral expression. "Thank you, Alfred. I'll be in the Cave if you need me."   
  
Alfred watched Xander walk purposely toward down the hallway toward the library, where the entrance to the Cave was. "Of course, sir."  
  
Knowing that the boy would spend the time between then and the time he had to leave to meet his friends, down in the Cave, preparing and working, Alfred sighed. Turning, jacket and glass in his hands, the butler went to prepare the Vauxville for tonight, before he retired to the kitchen to prepare dinner.  
  
…___…___…  
  
  
On first impressions, many found it strange that in what was traditionally a vampire dominated syndicate, at least the upper echelons, the second most powerful figure in the organization was a mortal human. Of course, after meeting him, most people quickly understood why.   
  
Jack Rapier was one of the smartest, most deadly creatures walking on two legs, soul or no soul. His mind was an archive of information. From art, history and fashion, to other more practical fields such as chemistry, explosives and the best way to skin a man alive. The only fault that Jack had, was that he was utterly insane, which in his field of work, wasn't exactly a handicap. Most didn't realize that under the utterly cool and suave exterior, was a madman the like of which humanity thankfully creates only rarely. When the mask of humanity cracked, monsters backed away and smart men ran.   
  
And it was that cool façade that was showing now, as Jack listlessly watched a press conference watched the 6 o'clock news, which was showing the highlights of a press conference. His features are surpassingly delicate, almost feminine in its beauty. Ice blue eyes seemed a million miles away as they gazed at the TV. Dressed in a gangsterish dark purple suit that would invite comment if worn by anyone else, Jack radiated arrogance and ease, manipulating a deck of cards with a one-handed shuffle with amazing finesse.  
  
"Together we can make Gotham City a safe place for decent people to live and work and play," the talking head of Lindsey McDonald, Gotham's newest Assistant DA, said to a crowd of supporters and media.  
  
Jack sets the cards on the table and taps them twice and lifts the first four cards off the top. All of them Jacks, each of them with a .22 caliber bullet hole through the center. "Decent people shouldn't live here," he says to the television. "They'd be much happier someplace else."  
  
Jack keeps watching the TV with cold eyes, while a dark-haired woman glides over and snuggled against him. Lilah Morgan, 28, beautiful and Vincent Trick's kept woman, leans down and kisses Jack's ear. "Anything new?" she asks, her voice seductive and quiet.  
  
Jack shrugs, his eyes still on the television. "The usual gas. If this clown could lay a hand on Trick... I would've had to kill him by now"  
  
Picking up Jack's necktie from off the back of the chair, Lilah straddles him and playfully beings to tie it around his neck. "If Trick knew about us…he'd probably have you killed."  
  
Apparently uninterested in her affections, Jack's eyes keep going from the television to his reflection in a near by vanity mirror. "Don't flatter yourself, angel. He's a tired old vampire. He can't run this city without me." Looking up at Lilah with contempt in his eyes, he gives her a half smile. "And besides, he doesn't know."  
  
Consulting his watch, Jack stands up, forcing Lilah to get off him quickly, and reaches for his topcoat. Standing in front of the vanity, he runs a hand through sculpted hair, and checks out his ensemble. Placing hands on both of his shoulders, Lilah stands behind him and smiles. "You look just fine, Jack."  
  
Craning his neck, Jack looks over his shoulder and gives her a look mixed with annoyance and pure confidence. "I didn't ask."  
  
Shrugging her hands off him, Jack walks away from Lilah and leaves the apartment without a backward glance.  
  
  
  
  
A.N- You may have recognized that last scene as from the movie. I'm adapting a few of the early scenes from the movie, which I thought was amazing, for the story. Only a few, and only ones pertaining to Jack. This isn't an adaption of the movie. I just thought that they did a great job with introducing Jack's character, that I decided not to fix a thing if it ain't broke. 


	6. Chapter 5

Buffy Summers sighed quietly to herself as she enjoyed the first moment of silence she'd had all day.  
  
Being the first one home, the Slayer had the place all to herself. It wouldn't last long, she knew. At that very moment her mother, Joyce Summers, would be picking up Buffy's sister, Dawn from Junior High. And wherever Dawn Summers was, peace and quiet were surely not.  
  
So, for the moment, Buffy slumped down on the couch and closed her eyes. Her first day at Sunnydale High School had gone as well as she could have hoped. She'd found where all her classes were, got a feel for the school and had made a friend. 'Willow," Buffy said to herself, an amused smile playing on her face as she thought about the redhead.  
  
The two had hit it off immediately, when Willow had offered to share her history textbook in one first class they'd shared. Willow welcomed Buffy to Sunnydale and asked the sort of first questions one expects as the new girl. Buffy had answered with well-prepared answers, steering well clear of any sort of avenue that would hint at her being the Slayer.  
  
Buffy hated doing that. Starting off any friendship, any relationship, with lies. Lies of omission, if nothing else. But as both her mother and Giles had told her hundreds of times, it was for everyone's good. Buffy's destiny as the Slayer was fraught with peril. Anyone who knew her and of her status, was in danger of becoming a target for the demons she hunted. That was the main reason that Buffy had hid her 'Chosen One'-ness from her mother and sister for so long. To save them both the late nights of worry and fear. The saying 'ignorance is bliss' was true when it came to Buffy.  
  
Of course her mother and sister had both found out eventually. Between the bloodstained clothes in the laundry and frequent calls from the police to come pick up her eldest daughter, Joyce realized that Buffy had been up to something she didn't know about. But it wasn't until Lothos, Master vampire of Los Angeles, had kidnapped both Dawn and Joyce that the full truth had come out. Watching Buffy fight off an army of demons and then slay Lothos, bred quite a few pointed questions. With Giles grudging consent, her mother and sister had been fully briefed on Buffy's role as the Slayer.  
  
The rest, as they say, is history.  
  
Except for of course, the fact that no one ELSE was allowed to know. Friends were hard to keep when you had to cancel plans at the last minute to stop the apocalypse, and make up excuses why you can't go to the movies, because some new Big Bad had breezed into town and wanted to eat your face. And if friends were hard to keep, boyfriends were next to impossible. The only boy she had ever dated after becoming the Slayer had been Pike. Pike had known all about her Slayerness from the start, after Buffy had saved him from becoming a late night snack.  
  
It had been.well great, to have someone her age, who she could talk to about everything. As much as Giles and her mother tried, they just couldn't understand on the same level as Pike could. He would keep her company on patrols, distract her when she was feeling sorry for herself. He was the best and truest friend she'd ever had.  
  
All his loyalty and bravery hadn't been enough to stop a vampire from tearing his throat out.  
  
She'd watched it happen. Running through that empty park as fast as she could, but not fast enough. Part of her mind knew that it had taken only seconds for the vampire to kill Pike. Knew that he'd seen her coming, knew she was the Slayer. Knew she was watching as his fangs tore through the flesh of Pike's neck, bit down hard, and ripped away flesh as the reddest blood Buffy had ever seen gushed forth from her best friend, pouring his life onto the dead grass underfoot. She remembered with perfect clarity how Pike fell limply as the vampire prepared to face her. The brief look of surprise as the stake she threw from 15 feet away entered his heart and he turned to dust, Pike's blood still staining his face.  
  
She held Pike in that park for what seemed like hours, simply crying. She'd never cried so much in her life as she did that night. Not when her father left, or when she learned she would have to leave LA. All things seemed so small in the face of her failure of Pike. She would have held him there forever, if Giles hadn't found them that night. He'd picked her up and simply held her, his comfort making her cry all the harder.  
  
After that, they never had another discussion about the importance of keeping her identity as the Slayer a secret.  
  
Buffy's moment of self-reflection was abruptly ended with the sound of a car driving up to the house. Opening her eyes, she saw her mother and sister exiting the Bronco, Dawn chattering excitedly to Joyce about her day. "I mean it! The school is SO much cooler then the one back in LA," her younger sister could be heard saying, as the front door opened. "I mean.WAY cooler!"  
  
"So you've said about a dozen times now, Dawn. I get it. You like your school. It's great." Giving her youngest daughter and indulgent grin, Joyce turned to Buffy and gave her a slightly more concerned look. "How was your first day, honey?"  
  
Giving her mother a smile, Buffy shrugged. "Pretty good. Found all my classes. And considering the school is about five times the size of my old one, I'm rather proud of it!"  
  
Joyce laughed and patted her eldest daughter on the head, while Dawn just rolled her eyes at Buffy. "And did you make any friends?" Joyce asked as she put her purse on the coffee table and walked into the kitchen.  
  
"More importantly, did you meet HIM??" Dawn asked before Buffy could answer her mother.  
  
Choosing to ignore her sister, the Slayer instead followed Joyce into the kitchen. "Yes, actually, Willow. She's in a couple of my classes. She shared her textbook with me in History. We hit it off really, well." Giving her mother a saucy grin, Buffy patted her mother on the head. "No need to feel guilty about tearing me away from everyone I knew for my senior year of high school." Joyce simply stuck her tongue out at Buffy, before turning and putting the kettle on to boil and pretending to miss the mock look of outrage the Slayer gave her.  
  
"Well?" Dawn said as she entered the kitchen, hands on her hips. "Did you even see him?"  
  
Walking to the fridge and opening it, Buffy made a show of looking for something to eat. "Why Dawn, whom ever do you mean?"  
  
"Maaaaaaaahm!" Dawn whined, causing involuntary stiffening of the spine in both Joyce and Buffy. "Buffy won't tell me if she met him or not!"  
  
Joyce gave the Slayer a look that pleaded 'Please tell her what she wants to know!' With a long sigh, Buffy picked out a yogurt cup and closed the refrigerator. "Can I assume from your tone you mean your imaginary boyfriend?"  
  
"YES!" Dawn exclaimed, before shooting her sister a dark look. "And he's not my imaginary boyfriend."  
  
"Uh-huh!" Joyce and Buffy exchanged eyerolls as the middle Summers sat at the kitchen table. "Well, it just so happens that I had lunch with him today."  
  
"You LIE!" Dawn exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock as she sat down across from Buffy.  
  
"Completely true," the Slayer assured her sister, giving her a smug grin.  
  
"You actually had lunch with Alexander Harris?" Joyce asked as she poured herself a cup of tea.  
  
Buffy glared at both her mother and her sister. "What, are you two members of his fan club or something?"  
  
Dawn actually nodded and pulled out her wallet to show her Official Membership Card. Joyce blushed slightly and turned back to her tea. "Well, he's supposedly one of the biggest patron of the arts in Sunnydale and Gotham City."  
  
Buffy raised an eyebrow and gave her mother an amused look. "What? You want to invite him over for dinner and pump him for a grant?" Joyce had the good grace to blush a little more before giving Buffy a reproving look.  
  
"I'll pump him!" Both Joyce and Buffy turned as one to stare opened mouth at a very grinning Dawn. "What?  
  
"There will be no.pumping of Xander Harris!" Buffy said loudly as she glared at her sister. Turned at her mother and glared at her as well. "By anyone!" Joyce stared open-mouthed at her eldest daughter, before an almost hysterical giggle erupted from her lips. Grabbing her cup of tea, she walked out of the kitchen, mentioning something about dirty minds.  
  
"Xander, eh?" Dawn said with a smug smile. "What, are you like his best friend now?"  
  
"Hardly," Buffy responded with a roll of the eyes. "Him and Willow have apparently been best friends since the beginning of time. She calls him Xander, so I guess I call him Xander too."  
  
Dawn grinned widely at her sister, bopping up and down in her seat. "Do you think your friend could introduce me to him?"  
  
"No!" Pointing a finger at Dawn, Buffy leaned forward over the table. "Willow's coming over tonight to pick me up, and I don't want you pestering her about you disturbing obsession! Understand?" The two sisters exchanged glares for a moment, before Dawn nodded. Picking up her yogurt cup and a spoon, Buffy walked back into the living room where her mother was. "Mom?"  
  
Joyce didn't look up from the book. "Hmm?"  
  
"Uh, Willow invited me out tonight," Buffy started, pausing as her mother finally looked at her over her reading glasses. "Yeah. There's this.um.club. The Bronze. And, well, she invited me out. You know, kinda like 'show the new girl around' type of thing."  
  
"Homework?"  
  
"Just some reading to catch up on, which I can do before she gets here," Buffy answered quickly.  
  
"Patrol?"  
  
"Do it right after," the Slayer said, wincing internally.  
  
"Which means you won't be home until what? Three?" Joyce was in full mom-mode now, placing her book on the coffee table and taking her glasses off. "Buffy, it's a school night. You're cranky enough in the morning, when you just do a patrol."  
  
"But, my route in Sunnydale is a lot smaller then the one in LA, so it shouldn't take me nearly as long." Looking at her mother, Buffy pouted slightly. "And it'll probably the last time I get to just patrol Sunnydale. Giles wants me to start patrolling Gotham City too."  
  
"What?" Joyce shouted, surprising Buffy and causing Dawn to poke her head out of the kitchen. "Rupert expects you to patrol Sunnydale and Gotham City?" she asked for clarification, her voice at a more normal level.  
  
"Yes," Buffy nodded. "My reaction was almost as loud as yours."  
  
"How can you be expected to go to school during the day and patrol such a large area at night?" Joyce was now talking to herself. "You can't do all that on a few hours of sleep every night! You'll be burned out in a week!"  
  
Buffy watched silently as her mother proceeded to voice a long list of reasons why her daughter couldn't patrol Gotham City, which included time, energy and danger, among others. "What is she ranting about?" Dawn asked in a low voice, now standing beside her sister.  
  
"Giles wants me to patrol Gotham City," Buffy answered, her voice low as well so not to interrupt her mother.  
  
"Oh," the younger sister said with a nod, eyes following Joyce's' pacing. "Yeah. Mom wouldn't like that."  
  
When it appeared that Joyce was not running out of steam in her tirade against a certain Englishman they all knew, Buffy cleared her throat loudly to get her mother's attention. "Um, Mom, you know I agree with everything you just said. Except maybe that part about Giles smoking his tea instead of drinking it." Buffy hurried on as Joyce began to look like she was ready to unload on the Slayer as well. "But, about tonight."  
  
"It's fine, Buffy." Joyce set her jaw and glowered at no one in particular. "Rupert and I need to have a little talk to clarify you slaying schedule." With that, the eldest Summer picked up her book again and walked upstairs to her bedroom.  
  
Buffy and Dawn waited until they heard the mother's door close, before letting out a breath. Dawn turned to her sister and shook her head. "I can't believe you can still play Giles and Mom off each other like that."  
  
A slow grin spread across Buffy's face as she looked down at Dawn. "You have much to learn, young Grasshopper. Much to learn." Patting her younger sister on the head, Buffy bounded up the stairs and went to her room.  
  
Dawn was left standing alone in the living room, glaring at the ceiling. "God do I wish I was an only child."  
  
  
  
.___.___.  
  
  
  
The penthouse of Gotham Plaza Towers has the single best view of Gotham City available. On a clear day, you can see the whole city laid out like a map, all the way to the very edge of Sunnydale. True, there weren't all that many clear days in Gotham, but even on a bad day, the view was spectacular. Huge bullet proof, soundproof windows surrounded the entire suit, glass tinting automatically depending on how much sunlight hits it. From this place, the fates of over a million people were decided every night.  
  
Inside, a vampire watched a man shuffled cards with one hand.  
  
Vincent Trick, called Mr. Trick by anyone with even an ounce of self preservation, was listening to a lieutenant tell him about the case being built against him by the District Attorney's office. Master vampire and crime boss of Gotham City for the past 20 years, the vampire appeared supremely confident.  
  
He had a right to be.  
  
The term Master wasn't one he took lightly, when he'd staked his predecessor and sire. He knew exactly what was expected of him. You couldn't rule a city like Gotham without being aware of everything that happened. From a mugging of a tourist to a multi-million dollar arms deal, Mr. Trick knew and controlled it all with an iron fist. In public he was the image of legitimate business in the 21'st Century. Polite, debonair and by first glance, completely law abiding. His public image was of a charitable businessman, who has been targeted for persecution by the establishment.  
  
Or, that was what he paid a host of spin-doctors to portray. Truth was that anyone in the know, knew that he was as guilty as sin. The DAs Office was a tough nut to crack. Filled with true blue men and women who believed in justice and the rule of law, Trick was hardly surprised that they'd finally targeted him for prosecution. The Police Department was another kettle of fish all together. The average boy or girl in blue was usually willing to forget a certain detail with the proper monetary incentive. They could hardly be blamed for this flaw, being underpaid and under appreciated as they were. But the higher one went up the chain of command the harder it was to distract the police with money. Commissioner Gordon had been Top Cop for 10 years and would spit on Trick if they were ever close enough for him to do it.  
  
Trick wasn't worried about it though. The police and district attorneys hadn't been able to get rid of his predecessor, and he was very confident that they wouldn't get rid of him. He was Mr. Trick. This was his city. Anyone who screwed with him was dead, whether they knew it or not. With that comforting thought in his head he glanced over at his General.  
  
His most trusted advisor.  
  
Jack Rapier.  
  
It took a lot of effort for Trick not to growl at the sight of him.  
  
Instead, Trick focused on the vampire that was speaking to the assembled group. Explaining in detail what they were up against in regards to the DA's Office. "In short, we're weakest in our front companies. If McDonald can tie you to Axis Chemicals.that's the ball game."  
  
Jack Rapier slouched in his easy chair off to Trick's right, doing his trademark one-handed shuffle. "We can always pop him. Or someone close to him."  
  
"Lets feed him to the Bat," one of the vampire Lieutenant's said, causing chuckles and quiet laughter from many of those present. Neither Trick nor Jack were amused.  
  
"That's a short term solution," Trick said smoothly. "We'll still have a problem with the fronts. As much fun as it would be killing every DA in this city, they'll just get more. Lawyers are maggots. Where there's one, there's a million."  
  
"We need to clean out our files before the subpoena comes down," one of the accountants advised.  
  
"How do we do it?" Asked the vampire that made the joke about the Bat. "Strike a match?"  
  
The group mulled it over, looking to Trick for his thoughts on the idea. "Arson gives us a nice write-off." The accountants nodded. " On the other hand, we do have a history of unexplained fires."  
  
Jack shifted in his seat. "Break in." Trick and the others looked at him. "We go in, trash the office, make off with the files. Chalk it up to 'industrial espionage'."  
  
Again the assorted thugs and gangsters mulled it over, some of them nodding. But as always, they looked to Mr. Trick for an answer. "I like it. Good idea, Jack." The master vampire leaned forward over his desk, his face deadly serious. "In fact, I'd like you to handle this operation.personally."  
  
Jack's hand freezes over his lucky deck, his eyes staring off into space. "Me?"  
  
At this moment the elevator doors open and out walks Lilah Morgan carrying numerous shopping bags. "Hello, sweetheart," Trick calls to her, a smile on his dark face. "I wonder if you would mind waiting in the other room."  
  
Lilah saunters across the room, her gaze locking with Jack's right before she vanishes into a side room. "Why do you need me for a simple break-in?" Jack asks smirks slightly and lowers his eyes to his deck of cards.  
  
The eye contact between his woman and his chief lieutenant isn't lost on Trick. "Because I want someone I can trust," the vampire says emphatically, giving Jack a look before turning to the others. "We'll need to move on this soon. Tomorrow night at the latest." Rising from his seat, Trick moved around the desk, signaling that the meeting was over. "Thank you gentlemen, that will be all for now."  
  
Jack bridles and nervously turns the forth card off the top of the deck. It's not the jack he was expecting, but the Joker instead. The Joker has a neat .22 caliber hole through its face. Jack looks slightly perturbed as he stands up and lingers while the others leave. "Vince," the gangster says, still looking ill at ease. "You know, the fumes in that place."  
  
"Jack, I need you on board with this." Placing a hand on both Jack's shoulders, Trick gave him a gentle squeeze. "I can't trust something this important to someone who'll screw it up."  
  
Jack still looks less then thrilled but nods. "I understand."  
  
As Jack turns to get his coat and hat and leave, Trick stops him. "Oh Jack." Getting the mortal's attention, the vampire walks up to him and hands him his playing cards. "Don't forget your lucky deck."  
  
Jack pockets the deck and leaves, leaving Trick alone in the room. Going back behind his desk, the master vampire sits and presses a button on the underside of the desk. "My friend, your luck is about to change." The sound of a door sliding open is heard and two figures stroll out of the hidden room. A bank of security monitors can be seen glowing over their shoulders before the door slides back into place. "I presume you were watching?"  
  
The smaller of the two newcomers glides out of the shadows dressed in a long black dress and twirls around the room. "You're going to turn the prince into a jester! Naughty, naughty!"  
  
Trick leans back in his chair and gives the spinning girl a cool look. "Something like that."  
  
"Poor sod." The other figure steps out of the shadows, his long black duster almost touching the floor. "He doesn't 'ave a clue yer settin' him up for the fall."  
  
"No, he doesn't." Getting up, Trick went to the bar at the side of the room and mixed himself a blood and soda. "And you two are going to be there to make sure there are no mistakes." Turning back, he saw the bleached blond vampire siting behind his desk with his feet up. "You two do this for me, and you and Dru have a place in Gotham for as long as you two want." Walking up, Trick flipped the other vampire's feet off his desk, knocking him on his ass. "But Spike, if you two screw this up, I'll have your ashes spread from her to Metropolis."  
  
Picking himself up off the floor, Spike growled at the dark skinned vampire, before a smug smile came to his lips. "No worries, mate." Putting a hand out, Drusilla danced into his arms. "Me and Dru will make sure your boy goes down and stays there."  
  
Drusilla bowed her head and looked at Trick from underneath her long lashes, as her mate hugged her to his chest. "Oh my Spike will play your prank and you will laugh as the naughty prince looks the fool." Standing on her tiptoes, she grinned and licked Spike's ear. "But he won't be allowed to laugh long," she whispered so only her man could here.  
  
.___.___.  
  
  
  
The Bronze held a unique standing in Sunnydale. Located on the very fringes of the town, the club was a remodeled slaughterhouse, in what many called the bad side of town. Considering the size of Sunnydale, the bad side of town consisted of The Bronze, the old train station and a few warehouses that lay between them. All in all, about 2 small city blocks. The club was, aside from the mall and movie house, the only place for the younger crowd to congregate for the purposes of leisure. Dumbed down, it was where kids went to dance and try to get drunk.  
  
It was usually half full every night of the week, with attendance shooting up on weekends and for special events. It attracted not only Sunnydale's elite youngsters, but also quite a few from nearby Gotham City. All and all, it was considered, by process of elimination if nothing else, as THE place to be, come nightfall.  
  
Knowing all that, Xander stared at the building and the throngs of teenagers loitering outside with something akin to dread. From inside his car, he watched as people entered and exited the club. They laughed, joked and generally enjoyed themselves, comforted in the thought of a few days respite from school. Part of him wanted to be like them. Carefree. Worried about things like dating, clothes and the SATs. Oblivious to the dangers that lurked in shadows. Ignorant of how the darkness could suddenly become a living thing that would strike them or someone they cared for down.  
  
As quickly as the tendrils of longing started, they were clamped down and subdued. Distraction was a dangerous thing for both Xander Harris and the Batman. Even here, in the deceptive safety of his car, he needed control. Control of himself, his environment, of everything.  
  
Many would have called his need for order and control to be unhealthy. A side effect of witnessing the sudden and violent deaths of his parents at such a young age. Doctors would recommend a regime of intensive therapy and prescription drugs, at the very least. Perhaps, an extended stay a 'health resort'.  
  
It was only Xander's ability to submerge his emotions and focus, which no one had an inkling of the all emcompassing need for control that he dealt with everyday. Learned at an early age and perfected by years of practice, Xander Harris was in complete control of himself at all times. Down to the heartbeat, if he felt the need. He was in control. Always.  
  
"Always," he said to himself, eyes locked onto the people in front of the Bronze. 


	7. Chapter 6

Title: Dark Knight Over Sunnydale -6/? Author: Godeater Disclaimer: Don't own jack. Or anyone else that might appear in this thing. Summery: Xander's the original Dark Avenger. AU obviously. Notes: This story has the same title as another Batman/Buffy fic I had started. I threw that one away. Now I'm writing this one. See how that works out? *g*  
  
  
  
Cordelia Chase was perched on a stool, surrounded by her friends, feeling remarkably alone.  
  
She felt that way a lot.  
  
She was beyond popular. Beautiful in just about every way the word could be used. Her peers climbed over themselves to be around her. Her opinion could make or break just about any fad that passed her sight. She could destroy the social life of anyone with but a word and a look. She was the undisputed Queen of Sunnydale. Her hangers-on were legion.  
  
Yet holding court at the Bronze, mobbed by dozens of her classmates for just a moment of her attention, she felt alone. 'Maybe you should tell them,' part of her mind said. 'How many of them do you think would get it? Would care?'  
  
Her laugh caused just about everyone else to laugh as well, though they didn't have a clue as to what they were laughing at. 'They're sheep. You could go to school tomorrow wearing a potato sack and by the next day, all of them would be shopping for burlap.'  
  
Sighing to herself, her eyes wandered around the crowded club, searching for something to distract her from Harmony's ramblings of her latest 'conquest'. The dance floor was packed with teenagers, all moving to the throbbing beats of hard techno that blasted out of the speakers. Strobe lights and lasers flashed on expensive silks and even more expensive tans. High fashion and toned flesh clashed under the flashing lights of the club, like some high-tech mating dance.  
  
Which of course it was. Who was sleeping with who was the second most popular topic of discussion at Sunnydale High, right behind who was dumping who. Anyone who kept up with the social dynamics of the micro-universe that was Sunnydale High quickly realized just how twisted it was. Each circle dated within itself, often recycling relationships when two people had worked their way through everyone else. No one really associated outside of their level. Those who tried usually found themselves completely cut off from every level.  
  
There were of course, exceptions to every rule, and so Cordelia found herself looking at one.  
  
Willow Rosenburg should, by all rights, have been in the upper levels. In fact, on face value alone, she should have been one of Cordelia's group. Her family had the right money and history. She was more then pretty enough. And, Cordy suspected, that if she wished it, Willow could be just as cold and deceitful as the best of them. But Willow was an outsider. She didn't care about the way people thought of her. She was proud, not of her physical appearance, but her brains. The money her parents gave her was spent on computers and books, not on clothes and make up. Willow was one of those rare few people in school who could, when she wanted to, mix with any circle. She was smart enough to meet the geeks on their home turf, but savvy enough to bump heads with the elite. She was, generally, liked by just about everyone.  
  
Part of Cordelia hated her for that.  
  
People actually liked Willow. Even though she broke or ignored every rule that had ever existed in what it took to be popular. She was a geek and proud of it. She was bisexual, and open about it. She was, when it came down to it, a rebel. More importantly, she was happy.  
  
Another part of Cordelia envied that.  
  
Cordelia was feared. Respected. Not liked. At least, not by many. Her spot at the top of the heap was created out of the social corpses of many rivals. She'd fought hard for her role as the Queen. It was what made her important. It gave her an identity beyond just another pretty face and she held on to it like it was her first born child. She would destroy anyone who threatened her position and she made sure everyone knew it. She had to. A moment of weakness and it would all be ripped away from her by the competition that now surrounded her.  
  
A moment of weakness.  
  
She was having one right now, as she watched Xander Harris enter the Bronze.  
  
Her breath caught and her heart raced. The grip on her glass tightened involuntarily.  
  
The effect this boy had on her sometimes scared her. For a girl who prided herself on maintaining control of herself in every situation, the fact that Xander's smile could make her weak in the knees was distressing on a few levels. True, she did her best to hide his effect had on her, especially to him. He intimidated her in a way that no one else could. It wasn't his money, yeah he was super-rich, but after awhile, wealth becomes an abstract. And it wasn't just physical, though there was plenty of that. Sunnydale, Gotham City and California in general had plenty of drop-dead gorgeous guys to swoon over.  
  
No. The things that Cordelia loved about Xander weren't things you could catch. His intelligence stunned her. For all of Willow's book smarts, she couldn't hold a candle to the perception and insight that Xander had. She'd seen him look at someone for less then a minute, and know move about them then if someone else had spoken with them for hours. His charm made her smile like a girl half her age, sometimes.  
  
Cordelia admitted to herself that she didn't understand more then a small percentage of her boyfriend. The grief he held about his parents' death confused her. While everyone she knew went to therapists to get over even the smallest issue, Xander sometimes seemed to hold on to his loss with a white-knuckled grip. And it wasn't for attention, which she knew Xander shunned as much as she embraced it. He almost never mentioned his parents, to her or anyone else. The one conversation they'd had about it, was.painful. For her probably, more then him. Cordelia so wanted to know more about the boy she was involved with. She sometimes felt like a complete fool for being so happy that he shared anything with her at all.  
  
And he did. Xander had shared things with her, private things, that she knew, that she believed that nobody else knew. Even the much loved Willow. Oh, she knew as well that Willow knew things about Xander that she would never know. That pained her, but she took more then a little bit of vicious comfort in the knowledge that Willow probably didn't know Xander nearly as well as the redhead would like to.  
  
Neither of them did.  
  
It was probably the one thing they really had in common.  
  
Xander could have been a bridge for Willow and Cordelia to form a friendship on. Secretly, Cordy would have welcomed it. There were precious few people that the Queen of Sunnydale could enjoy a conversation with. That she could connect with on anything other then a superficial level. Cordelia knew that Willow was one of those people. Cordelia also knew that instead of being a bridge, Xander had become a wall.  
  
Willow had never liked her, but since she'd started dating Xander, the redhead's animosity for the brunette girl had become borderline vicious. And Cordy responded in kind, most times even worse then she would have.  
  
There was jealousy there, between the two of them. Willow resented Cordelia's physical relationship with Xander. Yes, Willow had a girlfriend, but her longing for her best friend had hardly been a secret. Cordelia resented that Willow had been a part of Xander's life since the beginning. That there were things that she could never touch, but Willow could.  
  
Taking a small sip from her drink, Cordelia forced the thoughts away and simply enjoyed watching Xander. She'd never known anyone more comfortable with their body. He moved with purpose and confidence, in every situation. People always moved out of his way, even if they didn't know it. Watching him now, he moved like a knife in butter, though the crowded club.  
  
. He slipped through crowds so quickly that the people didn't even see him, just a brief flash of deep black. Cordelia noticed, not for the first time, how her boyfriend could hide in plain sight of people. One of the most famous faces in the world, let alone this crummy town, and he could walk through it without catching a glance, if he didn't want to draw attention to himself.  
  
'His fashion sense helps,' the brunette girl mused as she observed Xander's black pants, shirt and sports coat. Xander's habitual need to drape himself in dark clothing, and plant himself in the shadiest part of a room aided his need to stand apart from everyone else. Cordelia thought back to the afternoon and the 20 minutes she spent looking for her boyfriend in the courtyard at school. She mentally smacked herself when she finally saw him, sitting in plain sight, under the shade of tree.  
  
Cordelia watched as Xander made his way over to the table where Willow was sitting with the new girl, Buffy.  
  
The girl that had been having lunch with HER boyfriend.  
  
Her eyes narrowed as she inspected the girl. 'Blond hair, obviously dyed,' Cordelia noted. Make up tastefully done, complimentary without nearing over done. Clothes were fashionable, but not exactly setting off dollar signs. They flattered the new girl, but were much more practical then most of the other fashion plates filling the club. 'Nice boots,' Cordelia admitted to herself. All in all, the new girl wouldn't have been much of a blip on her radar. Hardly worth notice as competition, perhaps marked as a possible if the girl ever got the idea and the money to make a run for Cordy's crown. In fact, Cordelia wouldn't have even given Buffy a second look at all, if she hadn't caught the blond having lunch with Xander.  
  
Cordelia knew that Xander didn't have a superficial bone in his body. He judged people on a much different level then how they dressed or looked. But.well Buffy was obviously attractive. Very attractive. Cordelia could admit this to herself, but would rather have her tongue cut out then tell anyone else. And while Xander may be oblivious to the extreme hotness of his new friend, Cordelia was not.  
  
While everyone at school may have thought that Sunnydale's Power Couple were as secure as a blue chip stock, Cordelia felt.actually knew inside her heart, that it was anything but. And while she thought and believed that she was in love with Xander Harris, a large part of her knew he wasn't with her. Oh, she knew that he cared for her. Probably more then he thought he would. She would catch brief glimpses of it, along with surprise, from Xander. But love her? She didn't think so. At least, not the way she wanted him to. And it hurt her to know that, and know that there was nothing she could do to change it. Xander hadn't opened his heart to her, not fully. He held so much back that it almost drove her to rage sometimes.  
  
The more time she spent with Xander, the more Cordelia was learning to read him. Or, more precisely, to read when he was exerting control over himself. A brief flash of tension that was gone in the blink of an eye. And Xander was getting better at it everyday. It was a secret little war going on between them. She would see excitement in his eyes for a moment, before it was pushed down and his usual mask for amusement. Cordelia used the same a similar method when she was at school or other social occasions. Never let anyone know what you're really thinking. Cordelia knew she was but a rank amateur at hiding what was going through her mind, in comparison to Xander. She was practically a hysterical drama queen when put beside her boyfriend's ability to hide what he was feeling.  
  
Watching Xander greet Willow and Buffy, Cordelia felt a jolt of insecurity stab through her. She quickly snuffed it out and buried it underneath a façade of cool disinterest, never letting the kids around her know how much she wanted to be at that table, rather then here with them.  
  
.___.___.  
  
  
  
Buffy was having a good time.  
  
Part of her was almost sad about it. She knew it probably be one of the last time she would actually let herself enjoy an evening out with her new friends. Once Giles and her mother got her slaying schedule worked out, a night out with friends would be a rare thing.  
  
Buffy pushed the blue thoughts out of her mind and focused on the now. One of the things being a Slayer had taught her was not to take little moments of happiness for granted. In a world filled with death and loss, moments of happiness were worth more then just about anything.  
  
Instead, the Slayer smiled as Willow once again gushed about Tara.  
  
At first she was a little unsure how to take the two girls. The open- mouthed kiss the couple had shared the moment they were within reach of each other had, admittedly, freaked her out a bit. Then for a bit longer, as the kiss lasted for almost a minute. The two girls had the good grace match Buffy's blush after it was over. "Um.we haven't seen each other all week," was Willow's weak response.  
  
"Oh," was all Buffy could manage, still getting over the shock of watching the exchange.  
  
"Band had a gig in LA," Tara put in, giving an unapologetic smile to the Slayer, before giving her girlfriend one last kiss.  
  
"Oh," Buffy repeated.  
  
Willow gave her new friend an amused and worried look. "This is weirding you out, isn't?"  
  
"No." Buffy was silent for a second as her brain caught up with her. "No! I mean.yeah.this is the first time I've actually gotten a good look.a REALLY good look at two girls kissing, but.well.whatever." With a shrug of her shoulders, Buffy gave the couple a rather smug grin. "I AM from LA, you know. You two would hardly rate a prolonged look there."  
  
Willow couldn't help but laugh while Tara just smiled. "I guess that means we need more practice before we take the show on the road, huh?" the red head asked her girlfriend, looking put out.  
  
"Practice makes perfect," Tara acknowledge with more then a hint of the devil in her smile.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Buffy said, waving her hands toward Tara's van. "Speaking of taking on the road, Willow mentioned that your band was playing at this club tonight. Which I would assume means you need to get there early and.tune up and sound out or something."  
  
As the trio entered the purple painted van, Tara gave the Slayer a bit of a smirk. "I think once you hear us play, you'll realize that tuning up isn't really going to help much."  
  
Willow shushed her girlfriend as she grabbed shotgun, while Buffy took a seat in the back beside an amp. "Don't believe a word, Buffy. The Dingoes are amazing." Turning to Tara, Willow smiled sweetly. "Their lead guitarist kicks ass."  
  
Starting the van, Tara looked at Buffy briefly in the rearview mirror before focusing back on the road. "You do realize he's over you, right?"  
  
"Oh he so is not!" Willow exclaimed at her girlfriend. "Last week when I was watching you guys practice, he didn't take his eyes off me the whole time."  
  
"Maybe it had something to do with the cleavage that was pouring out of your sweater?" Tara put forward with a faux innocence.  
  
Willow smirked. "Didn't hear you complaining at the time."  
  
Tara smirked back. "No. You didn't."  
  
Buffy watched the exchange with a slightly bemused look on her face. While she had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, the fact that they were so.open in front of her was very comforting and more then a bit disconcerting. She was just beginning to think they'd forgotten she was with them when Willow announced that Xander was going to be at the Bronze tonight and turned to give the Slayer a smirk to call her own.  
  
Tara gave a low whistle. "Should be an interesting night."  
  
"Why?" Buffy asked, which earned her an amused laugh from Willow and widening of the eyes in the rearview mirror from Tara.  
  
"Have you met Xander yet?" Tara asked, her eyes back on the road.  
  
"Yeah." Buffy answered dismissive. "He was a complete jerk." The Slayer cast a look to Willow and saw the redhead looking at her with a hint of embarrassment and sadness.  
  
"Xander's not usually like that," Willow said quietly. "He just has a lot on his mind recently." At Buffy's snort, Willow clenched her jaw for a moment, pushing down the urge to violently defend her best friend to her newest friend. "His parents died 10 years ago this coming Sunday."  
  
As soon as Willow recognized the less then friendly tone in her voice she looked at Buffy's face. The blond girls' face seemed to be in a dispute as to whether go red with embarrassment or white in horror. The result was a splotchy blush and a sickly pallor.  
  
"Oh my god," Buffy whispered more to herself then to either Willow or Tara. "I didn't know."  
  
Willow was already feeling guilty about virtually snapping at Buffy. "Hey! It's alright." Buffy, who looked almost ill, glanced up at the redhead. "Well, I mean.uh."  
  
"Xander won't hold it against you." Both girls looked over at the blond girl behind the wheel. Tara kept her eyes on the road. "I don't know Xander nearly as well as Willow does, but I know he won't hold any.bad first impressions against you."  
  
"He won't!" Willow exclaimed. "I mean, I think other then Alfred and me, no one else even knows."  
  
"Cordelia might," Tara put in, giving her girlfriend a sideways look.  
  
Willow appeared almost to scoff at that, before almost wilting slightly. "Maybe."  
  
"He must think I'm horrible." Buffy said, still only paying half an ear to the two other girls. She felt so.stupid. And embarrassed. She knows how she is around the time of year that Pike died. Giles, Dawn and her mother always give her space. The last thing she would want is some person she never met planting himself in front of her and then chewing her out because she wasn't as entertaining as he had been led to believe. And as deep as her feelings of loss went for losing Pike, she realized that it would be pale in comparison to losing her entire family. She had more nightmares of her mother and Dawn being killed in front of her then she could count. But Xander Harris had actually been there when both his parents had been murdered. A helpless child.  
  
Buffy didn't know whether she wanted to slam her head into the side of the van or just cry. She knew that neither would make her feel better. "I'm like.the worst person ever, aren't I?"  
  
"Hardly." Willow seemed reassured that HER first impression of Buffy wasn't wrong. She was a good person..just maybe a little clueless. "First off, you didn't know. Secondly.." Willow quickly ran out of steam as she wasn't really up on the details of what happened that afternoon. "Uh.he said you had a pretty face!"  
  
"What!!" Both Buffy and Tara shouted, the van veering for a second before the driver got a hold of herself.  
  
Now it was Willow's turn to blush. "Uh.he liked you?"  
  
"He said I was pretty?" Buffy asked, slightly stunned.  
  
"She said he was pretty?" Tara asked at the same time, a smile growing on her face.  
  
"Um.yeah." Willow sighed. 'Note to self: Look into tongue removal surgery'. She cast a look at her girlfriend. 'Um.Note to self: Scratch tongue removal. Let's keep the tongue.' Tucking a stray strand of red hair behind her ear, Willow gave Buffy a smile. "Yes, he said you were pretty. Very pretty actually."  
  
"But he has a girlfriend, right?" Buffy asked, both confused and slightly giddy. "Cordelia."  
  
"You met Cordelia?" Willow asked, intrigued at how Queen C had come off to her new friend.  
  
Buffy snorted and rolled her eyes. "That would mean we actually exchanged words. She walked up to Xander at lunch talked to him, insulted me and then stuck her tongue in his mouth." With a slump of her shoulders, the Slayer leaned back against an amp but couldn't hide the embarrassment and hurt she felt at being so soundly snubbed. "I have a feeling that we're not going to be pals."  
  
While the knowledge that making friends was going to be difficult and slow, Buffy had been encouraged by the fast connection she had with Willow. Her less then stunning lunch with Xander Harris and then being given the cold shoulder by Cordelia Chase, the most popular girl in school, had been a major wet blanket over that success. Add in the Giles plan of her patrolling Gotham City as well as Sunnydale and Buffy was one marching band away from a self-pity parade.  
  
A warm hand on her arm brought Buffy's gaze from her shoes. "It's Cordelia's loss then." Willow gave her smile so sincere that she wanted to cry.  
  
Before she could come up with a protest or shrug off the attention, a "Damn skippy!" was voiced loudly from the drivers' seat. Looking up Buffy saw Tara's smiling eyes focused on her before they gave her a friendly wink and focused back on the road.  
  
"Thanks," was the only thing Buffy could say, hoping she was conveying how much the two girls support meant to her right then.  
  
The van settled into a more then slightly awkward silence as it traveled down the streets. Buffy was starting to feel guilty about dampening the happy vibe when Willow looked over at Tara with a mixture of surprised and disbelief. "'Damn skippy?'? the redhead asked. "When the hell did you start saying that?"  
  
Tara smirked but kept her eyes on the road. "That's cool band member lingo. Untalented people such as yourself aren't in the know." The blonde singer's eyes glanced at Buffy and winked again. "Buffy got it."  
  
Willow squeaked in protest. "Untalented, am I? You weren't saying that when I was."  
  
Buffy felt herself relax and enjoyed the back and forth between the couple, no longer uncomfortable with any aspect of the girls relationship or insecure about how the night would proceed.  
  
The rest of the ride to the Bronze was filled with flirting between Tara and Willow, and more then a little good-natured teasing about Buffy's new girl status. When the trio finally reached the club, Tara gave Willow a kiss on the cheek and went off to find her band backstage. Willow and Buffy quickly found a table at the edge of the dance floor and watched as the place quickly filled up with teenagers.  
  
The two made mindless small talk mainly consisting of Willow pointing out people and giving a profile on them. "Jonathan. He's sweet and really smart, but really shy. Picked on a lot. Has a disturbing obsession with Cordelia..Harmony. Cordy's bitch. Airhead extraordinary.Percy. Jock. Has the potential to be a nice guy but can't shake off the peer pressure.Larry Another jock. Great guy. Only out of the closet gay guy in school. A few are in the closet, but my lips are sealed."  
  
In the space of an hour Buffy was given a crash course on the personalities of the most prominent students as Sunnydale High. When Cordelia Chase entered the Bronze, she saw Willow's right eye twitch once. "And of course you've already met Cordelia."  
  
"Yeah," Buffy answered faintly, noting how the brunette girl strolled leisurely through the club and the fact that every head had turned to watch her entrance, even Willow's and hers. "Wait a second!" she said, turning to face her friend. "You don't like her."  
  
"No." Willow takes a sip of her drink. "I don't."  
  
Buffy looks back at Cordelia, who is now surrounded by friends and well wishers. "But.you're Xander's best friend. She's his girlfriend." Looking back at Willow, Buffy gave her an inquiring look. "How does Xander choose between you?"  
  
Willow's eyes hardened over her drink. "He copes. He's good at that."  
  
Buffy was fast enough to realize that there were serious unresolved issues between her new friend, Xander Harris and Cordelia Chase, and promptly dropped that topic. Willow seemed to sense her discomfort and did her best to distract her with bits of gossip and insider info about the student body. Buffy did just followed along and tried to file as much information as she could in her mind for future reference.  
  
The conversation between the two continued to be light and carefree until the Tara and the band took the stage. Buffy had the feeling that Willow had wanted to ask her something but couldn't find the worlds, and compensated with more random Intel on the student body.  
  
Buffy was actually thankful when the band started to play. She was verging on information overload from Willow, but as soon as Tara was in the spotlight the focus of both girls was on the stage. With no introduction, Tara began strumming the electric guitar in an almost teasing melody before the rest of the band started with a bang behind her.  
  
Having been to enough clubs and seen enough rock bands while hanging with the ultimate indie rock fan that was Pike, Buffy had a good ear when it came to live music. The Dingoes weren't the worst band she'd ever heard, but they were far from the best. Tara's vocals were top notch, of that Buffy was sure. And the guitar work, between Tara's rhythm and the boy on lead, was pretty good too. The weak points were the drums and bass. The bassist, while not horrid, was completely uninspired and mechanical. The drumming was just bad. Too fast at one point and then too slow. The Slayer did her best to focus on Tara's voice and the guitars.  
  
Apparently Buffy's discriminating ear was in the minority, as the dance floor was filled beyond capacity with dancing teenagers. Buffy watched the scene with more then a touch of envy. She loved to dance and rarely got to do it. The clubs she'd frequented in LA were part of her patrol and she was always focused on finding vampires instead of dance partners.  
  
Willow, on the other hand, only had eyes for Tara. Buffy watched with amusement as the couple locked eyes over the dance floor. Tara seemed to be only singing to Willow, and the redhead was totally focused on her girlfriend. So much heat and emotion was passing over the heads of those on the dance floor that Buffy felt herself being pulled into it.  
  
So caught up in watching Willow, Buffy didn't notice Xander Harris until he was standing beside her. She automatically looked up and locked eyes with the boy and felt her heart jump when he smiled at her. "Hi," she said breathlessly 


End file.
